


Unexpected

by Shadadukal



Series: Unexpected [2]
Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Community: sfaflashfic, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-20
Updated: 2011-01-20
Packaged: 2017-10-14 22:26:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/154142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadadukal/pseuds/Shadadukal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"End of Nights" AU. Clara Griffin is more than simply Nigel's granddaughter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unexpected

**Author's Note:**

> Written for challenge #3: AU at Sfaflashfic at Live Journal.
> 
> This is a loose sequel to my fic No Tomorrow (rated NC-17), but you needn't have knowledge of the events in it to read this one.

Nikola worked to create a cure for the Lazarus virus with what little Source Blood they had extracted from the vial before Ashley stole it. He was also running tests on all the blood samples of Source-Blood-altered abnormals he had. During his analysis of Clara's sample, something caught his eyes. That couldn't be right. With some trepidation, he ran another test. Then he ran it again. And again. Fuck.

He reached for the bottle of wine. Unfortunately, it was empty. He transferred the result of the test to a tablet before going to the wine cellar. He selected one of Helen's best bottles without second thought. Considering she was as good as exploiting him to create a treatment, he considered it just payment.

He ascended to the upper floors. Noticing the light coming from Helen's office, he walked to it. Helen was sitting on her couch, looking down at something. He walked softly closer and saw she was holding a picture of herself and Ashley.

"We'll get her back, Helen."

She looked up at him. There were unshed tears in her eyes.

"How is the research going?"

"Getting there. I'm confident I'll have a treatment ready soon," he said, sitting down next to her.

"Good."

"You could help me."

"John and I need to go back out soon and keep searching for Ashley."

"Any lead?"

"None so far, but we haven't exhausted all our avenues of investigation."

"Shouldn't you be resting while you're here?"

"I can't sleep."

"You could at least go lie down."

She leaned against his shoulder. For a moment, he remained quiet, letting the silence envelop them, until he couldn't help it anymore.

"I'm Clara's father," he blurted out.

She raised her head from his shoulder and turned to face him properly.

"Could you repeat what you've just said? I think I may have misunderstood you."

"No, you haven't. I'm Clara's father. Here, look," he said handing the tablet to her.

"This is a joke, right?"

"You can run the test yourself again if you like."

"But how?"

"I thought you were a doctor."

His attempt at humour only got him a glare.

"It was a chance encounter. She was gone before I woke up. I checked Clara's birth date, it fits."

"Did you know that the woman you were with was Nigel's daughter?"

"I could smell it. Abnormals smell different from humans, even if they look like them. Source Blood has a unique odour."

"Did she know who you were?"

"Of course not! I wasn't going to tell her: 'Oh, by the way, I was a classmate of your father a century ago.'"

"I can't believe you knowingly slept with Nigel's daughter!"

"Anna and I just connected. Sleeping with her was hardly what I set out to do when I chose to talk to her."

"Are you going to tell Clara?"

"I…Do you think she'd like to know?" he asked, vulnerability shining through his voice.

"Oh Nikola… I think you're lucky Nigel isn't around anymore. Not only would he kill you for sleeping with his daughter, but then he would bring you back to life so he can kill you again for even thinking of not taking responsibility for Clara."

"But I don't know how to be a father, much less a father of a twenty-seven-year-old. My God, she's about the age Anna was when we slept together."

"You're afraid," Helen stated, "afraid of not being good enough."

He looked a bit helplessly at his friend, running his hands through his hair, messing it up even more. Helen moved to take his hand and squeezed it.

"Tell her tomorrow."

"Can you be present for that?"

"What do think she's going to do? Kill you?"

"Please?"

"Honestly! Well, if I must…"

"Thank you, Helen," he said sincerely. "Well, I should go back to working on a cure."

"And I'll go lie down and hopefully get some sleep."

"Sleep well."

*

The following morning, Nikola went to Helen's office. She was at her desk.

"Hello, Nikola," she said when she saw him.

"Hi, Helen. Did you manage to sleep some?"

"A little, " she answered with a tight tired smile.

"Clara's in the library."

"Do you still want me to come with you then?"

"Yes, please."

"Let's go then."

Clara was sitting at one of the tables in the library, immersed in an old book. Nikola cleared his throat.

"Oh, good morning, Dr. Magnus, Dr. Tesla," she said, turning her head toward them.

"Clara," he began, "did your mother ever tell you anything about your father?"

"A few things. Why?" she asked with a frown.

"What precisely did she tell you?" Helen asked.

"Well, she met him in India. Said there was an instant connection, that he was special too, really understood what it was like to have a gift and be hunted for it. She spent just one night with him… she always got this dreamy look on her face whenever she talked about that. And about nine months later, she had me. So obviously I never had a chance to know him but for a one-night-stand, he was pretty nice and memorable from what Mum told me."

Helen threw him a glance at that and he couldn't help giving her a smug smile in return.

"Why are you asking me this?"

"Because the man your mother met in India was me," Nikola announced.

Clara's eyes widened visibly and her mouth fell open.

"What… what are you saying?"

"Nikola is your father, Clara," Helen put in, taking the younger woman's hand.

"But… why didn't you… before? What do you want? Why are you telling me this now?" Clara asked, turning toward him.

"I've just learned about you. When running tests for a cure for the Lazarus virus. I want to take responsibility for you. I'll play whatever role you choose to let me play in your life."

"I'll think about it."

Clara hurried up and out of the room.

"That went well."

"She'll come around, Nikola."

"Maybe."

Helen came to hug him.

"I have to go back to the search," she said after releasing him. "Go back to your work. Clara will come to you when she's ready."

She kissed his cheek before leaving the library.

*

"I'd like to hear your side of it".

Nikola looked up from his work. Clara was standing on the other side of the work bench. He was so engrossed in his work he hadn't noticed her arrival.

"Of what?"

"Your encounter with Mum, genius!"

"Anna was definitely rude too when I met her."

Clara glared at him.

"Your mother thought I was trying to seduce her but I was only curious because I could smell she was a Source-Blood-altered abnormal. She was suspicious when I hinted at her secret. But I showed her what I can do with electricity and she dragged me to her hotel room in response. And then…"

"And then I don't want to hear anymore," she cut him off. She took a deep breath and continued: "I think we could try to get to know each other better and see how it goes. I was going to go to the UK Sanctuary but I'll stay here instead."

"That works for me. What was your life with Anna like?"

"I actually don't have the time to talk now. I'm meeting Will for dinner."

"For dinner as in…"

Clara nodded.

"No, you can't. Will's too… I'm forbidding it."

"I'm 27. I can do whatever I want. Find a way to live with it."

"But…"

Clara left before he could argue why she couldn't have anything to do with Helen's protégé. This was going to be difficult. If James was still alive, he could have asked him for advice. No way he was going to Johnny as Druitt was far from being a model father. With a sigh, Nikola went back to his work, contemplating the various ways he could get rid of Zimmerman while making it seem like an accident.


End file.
